Abstract:
The increasing importance attached to national and world heritage points to the understanding of its role in preserving the most important values of the past which confer a precise identity on any nation and which, in relation to other cultures, leads to tolerance as well as to the understanding and practice of multiculturalism. The notion of heritage includes within its scope the material, immaterial or natural values taken into consideration by the authorities as well as their preservation and conservation with the aim of passing them on to future generations. Heritage education aims to provide new knowledge (historical, artistic, ethnographic, anthropological, architectural, aesthetic etc.), to form diverse attitudes and skills in the course of the learning process, to form and develop the civic virtue, the understanding of other cultures/civilizations and the development of tolerance towards
them, to cultivate the respect for the legacy bequeathed to us by our forefathers, to encourage involvement in projects intended to rescue and preserve the heritage etc.
The school has a particularly important role in this regard, as heritage education has become in recent years a component of didactic projects, with multiple benefits for both young people and teachers, which is why this new discipline has a great development in most European countries and not only. Through heritage pedagogy, the school opens to its environment by including a range of artistic and cultural activities in its curriculum and providing young people with a different perspective on the surrounding world. In France, the first „classes of historical monuments” were formed in 1980, the first Heritage Days were organized in 1984, and then in 1988 the first „heritage classes” were formed, the French model being quickly adopted by other European countries. The success of the cultural and educational actions dedicated to heritage has led to increasing attention in all national, European and international programs, which have managed to rescue and conserve countless heritage values of particular importance.
